1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods and apparatuses for direct access to cache memory.
2. Description of Related Art
Cache memories may be used to store data from main memory of a computer. Typically, a cache controller is used to manage and control access to a cache memory. Commands received by the cache controller may specify a memory address of the main memory. In response to receiving a command, a cache controller may use a cache directory to determine if a block of memory is within the cache memory. That is, the software providing the command to the cache controller does not know whether the block of memory is within the cache memory. If the software wants to flush or invalidate the cache memory, the instructions from the software to the cache controller may be inefficient because the software does not know with certainty which memory blocks are active in the cache at any particular moment in time.